Ukraine strikes both sides of the occupied-Crimean Bridge in overnight drone attack, Zelensky says

Editor's note: This story was updated to include comments from President Zelensky.

Ukraine's army struck energy and military targets on both sides of the Crimean Bridge, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on June 21.

"This night, our long-range sanctions were applied to the occupiers' military logistics, oil industry, and air defense," Zelensky said in a Telegram post.

"Targets on both sides of the Crimean Bridge were hit: maritime logistics for oil transportation in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in temporarily occupied Kerch," he added.

Kyiv has routinely targeted Russian military infrastructure in occupied territories, as well as oil and industrial facilities that support Moscow's war effort. The country has stepped up strikes on Crimea in recent weeks in an attempt to isolate the peninsula from mainland Russia.

The Crimean Bridge crosses the Kerch Strait — a 35-kilometer (21-mile) waterway linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and separating Eastern Crimea from Russia's Taman Peninsula. The bridge serves as a key logistics corridor for Moscow.

Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi, known by the call sign "Madyar," said in a post on Telegram that the strikes targeted oil terminals, gas compressors, and radar systems.

Photos and videos earlier posted to social media purport to show a fire at an oil terminal in the city of Kerch in occupied Crimea. Thick smoke was seen rising from the area of the port. Telegram media channels also reported that fuel transit terminals and port infrastructure on both sides of the bridge were struck, citing resident accounts.

A large fire was reported at the Kavkaz port on the Chushka Spit in Russia's Krasnodar Krai region, the Crimean Wind Telegram media channel reported.

The full extent of the damage was not immediately clear.

The strikes came amid a wider reported Ukrainian attack on the peninsula with explosions reported in Simferopol, Yevpatoria, and Sevastopol.

In the aftermath of the attack, Russian authorities instructed gas stations in Russian-occupied Crimea to completely suspend sales of fuel to civilians, only allowing sales to state services.

The complete ban comes after Russian proxy authorities in June implemented the use of "fuel vouchers" across occupied Crimea, as well as set limits to the amount of gasoline residents of the peninsula can purchase.

In recent months, Crimea has become the primary focus of Ukraine's effective "middle strike" campaign — using mid-range drones to hit Russian targets at operational depth behind the front, typically defined as between 25 and 200 kilometers (15 and 124 miles) from the front lines.

Kyiv has set its sights on targeting the energy facilities amid an ongoing fuel shortages in the region caused by Ukrainian strikes.

Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedoov said on June 17 that Ukraine's drone campaign is turning the peninsula "into an island," as Kyiv attempts to isolate Crimea from the rest of Russia with strikes on supply chains.

Earlier in the day, Ukrainian forces also hit an oil refinery in the Siberian city of Tyumen as Kyiv continues its campaign against Russia's energy sector to throttle Moscow's war machine.